Scottie Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Valuation board banded property and issued completion notice before house was completed or deemed habitable by building control, no temporary habitation order granted letter from building control stating that it is an offence to occupy property without completion certificate, hence the property is not lived yet am being held liable for full council tax. Can someone explain how this works? I am completely baffled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Typically they write to you saying they believe your house will be complete on (date) for council tax purposes. I wrote back with the date I believed we would complete and they agreed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Same happened with me, they kept visiting saying it was complete and habitable, the trick @Jeremy Harris came up with was to not connect the water supply till YOU wanted to have it complete, apparently a house has to have a potable water supply to be deemed habitable. This could also screw up your VAT claim as paying council tax can be seen as the house is complete when you are still spending money (VAT) on other works and you only have three months from completion to claim you’re VAT back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 5 hours ago, Scottie said: Valuation board banded property and issued completion notice before house was completed or deemed habitable by building control, no temporary habitation order granted letter from building control stating that it is an offence to occupy property without completion certificate, hence the property is not lived yet am being held liable for full council tax. Can someone explain how this works? I am completely baffled We where in the exact same position No plaster on the walls no first fix They are not interested I Took Jeremy's advise Told then we where no where near sign off No water supply or toilet The argument they used was But you could have water electricity etc YOU are choosing not to Barrett's can have a house built in 12 weeks was one of the gems I sought legal advise and eventually they back down slightly No back community charge then six weeks grace Then we would agree to 50% CT For six weeks then 100% Our Solicitor said they where using a law brought in to stop mainstream house builders stockpiling homes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz07 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 I've kept my latest place gates and front Windows obscured. That horrible council woman loves to pounce on a half finished home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 You can put up a notice on sight removing any implied rights of access, another thing @Jeremy Harris found out. If they ignore such a notice they are trespassing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz07 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 If she jumps over a Harris fence in her heels I'll pay up lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Ours said she had valued ours from the roadside Oom The law they are using is to stop builders having dozens of houses complete minus a working loo So as to avoid paying CT They should be using it to tax self builders For the last three months of the build we where paying full CT on both properties Our solicitor advised against appealing as the original 12 months arrears they claimed we owed could be levied against us I suspect the arrears had been put in to stop us kicking up a fuss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted July 1, 2020 Author Share Posted July 1, 2020 Thank you for responses, it is good to know we are not alone but still do not understand how council tax can be charged on a property prohibited by law from living in. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 39 minutes ago, Scottie said: Thank you for responses, it is good to know we are not alone but still do not understand how council tax can be charged on a property prohibited by law from living in. We thought that no water connection But you can no electricity But you can It was like talking to robots They finished by saying We think your house could be livable in eight weeks If you don’t it because you have chosen not to when they visited us we had no first fix electrical or plumbing Porta loo but only the neighbors hose pipe and good will for water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 24 minutes ago, nod said: We thought that no water connection But you can no electricity But you can It was like talking to robots They finished by saying We think your house could be livable in eight weeks If you don’t it because you have chosen not to when they visited us we had no first fix electrical or plumbing Porta loo but only the neighbors hose pipe and good will for water I think that when you register your new address it seems to trigger CT interest I think I would leave it a bit longer before registering next time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiver Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Could you not send them the letter from building control stating that it is an offence to occupy property without completion certificate and tell them to sort it out between themselves? (assuming your BC is of the local council variety) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 46 minutes ago, Reiver said: Could you not send them the letter from building control stating that it is an offence to occupy property without completion certificate and tell them to sort it out between themselves? (assuming your BC is of the local council variety) I don’t think you have to occupy a house to pay council tax, when I was selling a previous house (took a year) I had to pay council despite it being empty. (Not sure about Haggis land). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 Unfortunately you don’t need a completion certificate to move in we instructed our solicitor to draft a letter Our solicitor informed us of the change of law they where using to justify there actions The letter prompted another visit We where told While we realise you can not move into a house Without water or power We are prepared to give you eight weeks to get the house first fixed plastered and all electrics and gas finished Then you will go on 50% CT Then full CT Agree to this and the arrears that you owe will be cancelled If you haven’t completed your build in this timeframe It is because you have chosen not to In any case you will be liable for CT Wether you move into the property or not We tried everything I was told that I was missing the point The issue wasn’t wether the property was safe hygienic Certified or complete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 we have a different issue in that we have to move in on 1st Oct (or move to another rented for 6 months, just because we are 2 months short of being done). We will have roof on, windows in, working toilet and shower and temp rigged electrics but no CH and no fitted kitchen. I am trying to avoid anyone telling me I cant habitate the building and if we do get told we cant am relying on getting the main stuff done (be a couple of months) before they do anything about it. Plan is to get the next BC check once roof is on and windows in and before we move furniture to the house. The next visit following that is when plasterboard is up, etc so we should get away with it. Its a remote build and you cant just drive by to check on progress. Don't mind paying CT however do want to avoid being told we cant occupy, D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 12 minutes ago, redtop said: we have a different issue in that we have to move in on 1st Oct (or move to another rented for 6 months, just because we are 2 months short of being done). We will have roof on, windows in, working toilet and shower and temp rigged electrics but no CH and no fitted kitchen. I am trying to avoid anyone telling me I cant habitate the building and if we do get told we cant am relying on getting the main stuff done (be a couple of months) before they do anything about it. Plan is to get the next BC check once roof is on and windows in and before we move furniture to the house. The next visit following that is when plasterboard is up, etc so we should get away with it. Its a remote build and you cant just drive by to check on progress. Don't mind paying CT however do want to avoid being told we cant occupy, D Interesting schedule of BC visits. Last BC visit here was complete wind and watertight shell. I asked when should the next inspection be and he said "completion" How about getting a large touring caravan and moving into that. tell the council and you will get a few months of Band A council tax until they decide the house is sufficiently complete to give it a banding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Yep Pre plaster Then sign off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 1 hour ago, nod said: Yep Pre plaster Then sign off yep that's what ours is basically, watertight shell so they can see all the building structure (joists, roof, etc) and then completion; sorry if I didn't make it clear. No chance of getting a van on site, access not good enough. In any case why would I when we would only be 'out of rules' for a few weeks. If push came to shove I will put a tent up in the garden. At the end of the day, assuming you are paying CT but living in a house they deem isn't habitable because we have, for example, no working kitchen BUT do have fresh water, toilet, shower, watertight shell, etc. What would they be able to do in a 4 to 8 week period? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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